MGNREGS job demand dips for first time FY24 in Nov, compared to FY23

For the first time this financial year (FY-24), work demand under the flagship MGNREGS dipped below last year's levels in November 2023, data published on the scheme’s website showed.

Around 17.67 million households sought work under the scheme in November 2023, which was almost 5 per cent less than the same month of the 2022-23 financial year. The demand dip could be a fallout of funds squeeze as in October end around Rs 10,000 crore was pending towards payments to various states.

In the recently tabled supplementary demand for grants, the government has sought Parliament approval for an infusion of Rs 14,500 crore into the scheme. The Centre had allocated Rs 60,000 crore for MGNREGS in the Union Budget. The government meanwhile in a reply in the Parliament a few days back said that over 5.48 crore job cards under the MGNREGS were deleted in 2022-23, a staggering 267 per cent jump from the previous fiscal.

West Bengal saw the highest number of MGNREGA job cards being deleted at 83,43,469, which is 5,203 per cent more than 2021-22 when 157,309 job cards were deleted. The reasons for the deletion include fake, incorrect and duplicate job cards, workers not willing to work anymore, family shifting from a gram panchayat permanently and single-person job cards where the person has died.